TRAVEL

Thursday, 1 September 2016

World Famous Restaurants in Yountville Napa Valley - Where to Stay and Eat

Yountville is a small town between Napa and Calistoga in the Napa Valley. On your drive through you'll pass winery after winery, and on a sunny day you may be tempted to stop off and get tasting. This can be dangerous though, as before long you'll a) be incapable of driving any further and b) not enjoy one of the main reasons for visiting Yountville - a superb evening meal. You'll be fast asleep.

So having driven over the Golden Gate Bridge and had a really good lunch at Whole Foods Market Napa - incidentally the best place to stop for a snack if you need to, anywhere in the US - pick up fresh fruits and squeeze your own orange juice - we headed up Highway 29 to Yountville.

There are many places to stay around here, from the incredible and expensive luxury at the Auberge du Soleil to again incredible and not quite so expensive luxury at Bardessono, a green resort which sits right in the center of Yountville.

Bardessono is modern, minimal in an wonderfully comfortable way. You don't have the views over wine valleys that you do at the Auberge du Soleil but weigh this up against the fact that you can walk to all the restaurants in the town. Beds are superbly comfortable, bathrooms are huge, all rooms have a terrace and nothing is too much trouble for the staff.

The most famous restaurant here is Thomas Keller's French Laundry which is incredibly difficult to get into. Try if you want to but don't blame me if you end up tearing your hair out.

If you're here for just a couple of nights I would recommend the following. Book in advance at Redd Wood, Richard Reddington's famous casual Italian styled restaurant serving the best pizza that I have ever encountered, anywhere, and it takes a lot for me to eat Pizza. Accompany your pizza - try the white anchovy pizza - with a bottle of Frogs Leap Merlot from Rutherford, just up the road. You won't regret it. If you have enough room try the chocolate peanut butter ice cream. Far too decadent. Don't be tempted to drive to the restaurant, you'll need the walk back.

Then relax for the day at Bardessono, take a walk through wine country, swim in the pool, have a spa treatment (although these are seriously expensive) and put on something dressed up casual for your next restaurant visit, to Chef Michael Chiarello's Bottega. The food here is quite extraordinary. Try the bean salad as a starter, the linquine alla vongole et tostato, and then the wood grilled fish of the day. You may hardly be able to walk afterwards but at least you don't have to go far.

There are many other restaurants here in Yountville. These are two I have been to and enjoyed tremendously. The standard of cuisine here is quite extraordinary. Go if you can. Make sure you book everything, well in advance or you may well not get in. You have been warned.